The Serf Report

Diplomatic historians place the origins of American imperialism, or hegemony, in the 1890s. They view the Spanish American-War (1890), and President McKinley's forays into Latin America as early examples of the US exerting its influence on a global scale. The 1890 date, however, is at least twenty-five years off. This is because many historians ignore the regional, and internal struggles that imposed the North's will on the rest of the nation. Indeed the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), the North's push to dominate internal trade, and the War Between the States (1861-1865) are far better examples of Yankee imperialism.